Day 14 - 16 Overland: Okavango Delta
From Rundu, we barely managed to cross the border from Namibia to Botswana. It had been raining, and the only access to Botswana from Rundu was flooded. We were desperately hoping to get across so we could visit the amazing Okavango Delta. Todd, our guide, sadly told us that our Delta trip would most likely be cancelled if we weren't able to cross. It was still sprinkling when we reached the 20 km stretch of road. With our fingers crossed, we pushed ahead. Our 18-ton truck fishtailed wildly in the mud, unable to get any decent traction. About half way through, the truck got stuck in the mud. Taking off our shoes and rolling up our pants, we all unloaded from the truck to push. It was hilarious watching everyone slip and slide around. A mud fight, of course, was inevitable. But with the strong muscles of the boys, we managed to get the truck into a better position. When our truck finally reached the border, the border patrol officers, seeing how muddy we were, made us all wash up at the tap before we could get our passports stamped!
Nevertheless, we did make it to the Delta for some real bush camping! We were only allowed to pack a couple changes of clothes,a camera, and a swimming suit. The Delta was completely pristine and unpolluted, so we were unable to bring along any soap or shampoo. There were no facilities, no showers, or toilets. We carried baby wipes to clean ourselves daily, and Todd dug us a toilet to do our business. When we were finished, a little bit of dirt piled on top helped to keep the flies away! We'll never look at a shovel in the same way again!
The Delta is unique in that it is the only system of rivers that does not empty out to sea. There is only one other like this in the world, and that's somewhere in South America. To navigate around here, we had to lay down in a Mocoro canoe, and the polers pushed the canoes along to get you from one island to the other in the Delta. There was definitely plenty of water here, so the animals have plenty of places to drink. In this sense, they were harder to find and see. On our game walks, we really needed binoculars to see the wildlife; nevertheless, the environment here was absolutely amazing. Just being transported around the Delta in the mocoros made it a worthwhile experience!
Oh...one thing to note...we both ended up sick in the Delta from drinking the Delta water. (No we didn't do it on purpose!) We were sick for the last week of our trip in Africa. We visited the restroom (or our deep hole dug for us by Todd)many times. We think we were suffering from Giardia. We've never had so many stomach problems in our lives!